


Can you hear the music?

by Reggie_is_my_baby



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: AU, Caleb is like a magician, F/F, F/M, M/M, The band is alive, honesly i love the way this is going, julie is surrounded by her best friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:06:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27793546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reggie_is_my_baby/pseuds/Reggie_is_my_baby
Summary: Basically Julie has three very important boys in her lifeReggie (her older brother, who is mildly overprotective and loves her too much for his own good)Alex (Her boy best friend, who is always always there for her and gives her advice she wont take)And Luke (Her boy..boy? boy friend? boooyfriend? Who holds her hand a little too tight and holds her gaze longer then needed)
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn/Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Julie Molina/Reggie, Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 47
Kudos: 277





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea and decided to go with it. Let me know if you like it

Julie Molina was a simple girl, well is a simple girl. 

Basically Julie has three very important boys in her life

Reggie (her older brother, who is mildly overprotective and loves her too much for his own good)

Alex (Her boy best friend, who is always always there for her and gives her advice she wont take)

And Luke (Her boy..boy? boy friend? boooyfriend? Who holds her hand a little too tight and holds her gaze longer then needed)

She also had her younger brother, who was her ride or die and her dad, who lord only knows how grateful she is of him

But back to her three boys

She loved them. Truly and utterly did, she's known them since she was 5 so it was kinda mandatory for her to love them. 

Reggie met them in kindergarten, well met Alex in kindergarten. Alex was a shy boy, smiley and happy but often stayed away from anything that could even remote to dangerous or bad. Little Alex sitting on the swings using sticks to tap on the metal. Baby Reggie was intrigued by the drummer and determined from that moment on, Alex would always have someone to make beats with. 

Then Reggie met Luke, little baby Luke who was the baddest kid in class. Running, screaming, rocking out anywhere and everywhere he could at the young age of 6. Emily Patterson came to her little rockstar school more times then the teacher has.

When Reggie met Luke, he was the one who had to bring the bad boy his work during recess since Luke couldn't play. (Apparently a punishment for standing on his desk during a test, who would have known?) Luke made it is goal to have this sweet boy his partner in crime. And even 11 years later he still succeeded. 

The boys met Julie for the first time at Reggie's 7th birthday party. House packed with kids from school, Julie being the little sister she is just had to let everyone know that the 7 year old boy was her very own brother. (Julie thought her big brother was the coolest person on earth)

And even when Reggie thought his sister was very very annoying, he never let her wander too far without his eyes on her. He also introduced her to every person who came to her party. More importantly his best buds. Alex and Luke.

They loved her. Everyone did, it was quite impossible not to love the adorable little girl. And that day, those boys swore they would protect Julie Molina with their lives.

Fast forward 8 years later, they still kept their promise and sometimes that got a little out of hand.

At this time Julie was 13. A boy from her school asked her out on a real proper date. 

The day that reached the household, all hell broke loose

"No, no no no. You are wayy too young to be dating!" A 15 year old Reginald exclaimed as his sister ran down the stairs from him to their mom. 

"I am not! I'm 13! i can go on dates, Mom! Tell Reggie i can go on dates." Julie, with a puffed out lip, flops on the couch next to Rose.

Rose smiles gently and touches the messy hair of curls on her daughters head and looks at her son, "Its one date Reggie, and dad is going to be there whole time Mijo. Don't worry."

Reggie, who quite frankly did not like that answer, sat next to his mom. "But shes so young mom...i don't want her to get hurt."

Julie pipes up "Its a date! The kids not asking my hand in marriage!"

Rose kisses his hair, "I know, and one day she will. And you'll be right there." Reggie sits in silence for a moment and looks at his mother, Her hair wrapped in a scarf, he knows there isn't much left behind it. She wears it so she doesn't alarm Julie or Carlos. He knows, and that makes it so much harder.

Reggie shifts closer and nods, "I will be...but i wont be the only one either."

Julie groans, knowing exactly who he's talking about and not even three seconds later. Two boys interrupt the Molina's household with shouting voices, well one shouting voice.

"No , no no no."

"Luke, i'm 13!"

"I know what boys were thinking about at 13 and no! No boys for you!"

Alex on the other hand goes over to her, "Whats his name? Address? Who's his parents? Where do they work?"

"Alex stop! Shes not going! She's like 9!" At that comment a pillow gets thrown at Luke's head with a shout of '13'

"Momma Molina! Julies throwing pillows at me again!"

Later that night, all three boys are in a line, staring down at the boy who dared ask their girl on a date.

"Whats your last name?" The interrogating starts with Alex

"I-It's Ramon..s-sir"

Next comes Reggie, "Favorite topping on pizza?" 

"pepperoni"

A pause, the three boys look at each other and the Luke comes in "When you're alone in your room at night, what are you thinking about?- Ow! Momma Molina not you too!"

A warning look from Rose has all boys huffing, and a click of heels have them turning towards the stairs. The lady of the night smiling wide as she makes her way down the stairs.

They watch her with wide eyes, never once seeing Julie look so...so...

"You look beautiful"

Beautiful

The boy walks to her and Julie blushes at his compliment, "Thank you Justin..."

Alex steps up first and smiles, handing her a coat. "Have fun okay?"

She smiles gratefully at him and gives him a hug. Glares are thrown over her shoulder at the little boy.

Reggie and Luke are watching her and she waves slightly, "I'm leaving now." Reggie snaps out of his daze and hugs her. "You are so pretty little sis."

"just now realizing this?"

Ray comes up and grabs his jacket, "ready to go kiddos?"

Justin smiles and grabs Julies hand and everyone besides the two hears the sharp intake from a boy who hasn't been this quiet since he was 2.

Ray leads them out and when the door is shut, all three boys look at each other and then to Momma Molina. She lets out a sigh and grabs her keys. "Lets go"

Rose believes shes never seen boys run so fast to watch a date.


	2. I wish you didnt have to go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Julie and Reggie lose their mom. Julie pushes them away.
> 
> Or 3 incidents when she realizes she needs them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was definitely not expecting that amount of love on the first chapter! Thank you so much and I’ll be sure to keep up the updates

Days after Rose Molina was buried under the ground felt wrong. Everything seemed wrong. The way the shoes was arranged by the door was wrong. How the pillows on the couch felt was wrong. Everything was wrong. 

Family members came by everyday. Ones Julie hasn’t seen since she was 7. They bring food, encouraging words and try to help as much as they can. She wants them to leave. 

She spends the first 2 weeks in her bedroom, refusing to leave. She didn’t want to step into the hallway and see something of her mothers. The entire house reminded her of her mother. At the thought she pulls the covers over her head.

Flynn comes by the third week, without a word, she crawls into the bed and holds her best friend close. Letting her cry for the first time since the funeral. Flynn doesnt leave for the whole week.

Julie hears the boys throughout the house, it’s not the same though. They’re very quiet, whispering around the house and cramped up in Reggies room. They’ve been her everyday. They try to come in to hold Julie. She won’t let them.

2 months after Rose pass is the first time she let one of the boys in her room. Reggie.

She hears him late at night when he thinks everyone is sleeping. Their rooms are close to each others. Hearing her big brothers muffled cries, breaks her heart. He’s hurting, her brother, who was the coolest person she knew was hurting. 

She pushes her covers off and shivers, taking a deep breath and walking to his room, knocking softly. His breathing comes to a stop and he gets up. Julie can hear him walking across the floor. The door opens and for the first time in 2 months Julie really looks at her brother.

He’s breaking, he’s broken. Their mother was everything to them. He’s hurt and instead of leaning on each other. Julie has been pushing him away. 

Reggie looks at his little sister and takes a deep breath, pulling her close in and Julie let’s out a small cry into his shoulders. 

“She’s gone”

Julie pretends not to notice the way his arms tighten. 

He leads her back to her room and closes the door, laying in bed with her. She holds onto him and the siblings let their emotions flow through each other for the night. 

Their dad finds them cuddled up with tear-stained cheeks. Ray is convinced he’s never seen something as heartbreaking.

The next person who is let into her room is Alex. She’s sitting on her bed, 3 months since the funeral, doing homework that Flynn brought her when she looks up at her tv. An episode of glee is playing quietly on the tv.

At that moment she realizes that she hasn’t seen her binge buddy in 3 months. Hasn’t seen her blonde best friend in 3 months. She cant help the frustrated tears that seem to be a common occurrence in her life now. 

One text seems to do the trick. 

“I need you”

Alex is over in 5 minutes. Climbing through her window and gathers her up in his arms. His hugs make her sigh with relief. How dare she keep this away from herself. How dare she push Alex away. 

He doesn’t care. He doesn’t care that she hasn’t talked to him. He’s here now and it’s not going anywhere. He pushes her homework on the floor and lays on the bed, staying silent and watching glee together.

The silence doesn’t last 10 minutes before she’s sobbing into him. His arms tighten in a quick promise that he’s never letting go.

It takes a bit longer until Luke is in her room again. 6 months after the incident is when it happen. Sure she sees him at school, he’s at the house and they talk about nothing...but he doesn’t step into the place that’s been her comfort zone for these last few months.

When he does it feels weird. She doesn’t know how to react. She knocks on her door and opens it slowly. He’s standing with a bowl of food and let’s out a small breath 

“Hey...your dad wanted me to bring you this” he looks nervous, like she’s gonna yell at him for disturbing her. She looks up at him and gently takes the bowl. 

“Thank you...Um...d-do you wanna watch a movie?”

The tension in the room lifts as he smiles brightly and nods. “Yeah, that’ll be great.”

They sit on the bed and start watching a random movie, she leans on him and he throws an arm around her. They’re quiet before he speaks up.

“I’m here Jules, I’m not going anywhere”

She takes a deep breath and looks at him. She opens her mouth to speak and he shakes his head.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything.”

She leans on him and closes her eyes. Reggie finds them later and smiles. 

Julies back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is Julies struggle with music. Thank you for reading!


	3. I want you to be free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie has something to tell the boys

Julie Molina hasn’t touched a musical instrument in a year. She doesn’t think she ever will. Even after Reggie finally picked up his bass and the boys started their band back up, Julie couldn’t do it.

Her and her mother were so alike. Same voice, same music taste, same everything. Julie was Rose Molina in a younger body. How was she supposed to do something that was their thing to do? How was she supposed to sit and play the piano without her mother beside her. How was she supposed to write a song without her mother’s feedback. Nothing she did made sense without her.

The guys know how hard it’s been. They don’t pressure her but they miss her. They missed the way her voice added an edge to their sound. They miss the way they bounced off each other energy. Preforming without Julie was tasteless. And a waste of time.

Julie felt horrible, her boys dream was to become rockstars and she feels like she’s holding them back. They won’t do gigs, then barely rehearse and she hasn’t heard a new song in weeks. Julie is holding them back.

Today is the day that Julie is gonna officially quit the band. She’s hurting them and they wont realize it. She can’t do that to them anymore. She knows she probably will never make music again but that shouldn’t stop them. It’s been a year, they need to move on.

She goes out into the studio and they all turn to her. She hasn’t been in here for a while. She sees the hopeful looks on their faces and the guilt starts to settle in. 

“Guys...?”

Luke puts his guitar down and walks over to her and smiles, “hey Jules, what are you doing out here?”

She looks at him but quickly regrets it. His face was bright, like he was laughing and smiling only a couple of seconds ago. She was about to ruin that.

“I-I have to tell you guys something.” She doesn’t look up but she can already feel the tension rise, she can practically see the concern expressions on their faces without even looking. 

She hears Alex drumsticks and he stands up “Julie what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

She takes a deep breath, “I’m quitting the band.”

Alex trips over his seat and Reggie stumbles over the bass cord and Luke steps closer. 

“Quitting the band? What do you mean quitting the band?” Lukes eyes are wide and his voice is filled with confusion.

Reggie looks at his sister, “Julie , how are we gonna be Julie and the phantoms without the Julie? You can’t quit the band...”

She walks around Luke and shakes her head “you guys have been waiting on me for months. Wanting me to sing, waiting on me to at least try but I can’t do it.” She promised herself she wouldn’t start to cry but she can feel the burning feeling in her throat. “I’ve tried to sing, but everytime I open my mouth I hear moms voice and I can’t do it. It’s not fair to you guys. I hate holding you guys back. I can’t do that anymore.” 

Alex goes over to her, “you aren’t holding us back! Julie you lost your mom, and we know it’s hard. It took a long time for Reggie to even look at his bass. You aren’t holding us back. We are nothing without you.”

“That’s not true, you guys still can preform. Before there was Julie and the phantoms, there was sunset curve. You guys were amazing.” Julie looks at them, her heartbreaking watching every look they give her.

“Julie please, no music is worth making without you. Please don’t quit the band.” Luke grabs her hand and she pulls it away. 

“I’m sorry.” She looks at them once more before going back inside the house.

The tears she was holding back come falling out the minute she steps into her bedroom, she leans against the door and covers her mouth. 

Julie Molina has officially quit music.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sad, sorry again. After this though everything should start looking up again? I don’t even really know.


	4. It's time to Wake Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After weeks of silence in the studio. Julie decides to try one more time.

The studio didn’t have a soul inside for 8 weeks. After Julie quit the band, the boys tried to convince her for 2 of those weeks. With failed attempts, they realized that without Julie. What’s the point?

She felt horrible, they won’t play music. Even after everything she did, they won’t play music. It’s awful not hearing the familiar instruments in the distance.

They tried not to make her feel bad but every once in a while she saw the glances and looks they give her. Even after quitting the band they still want her to try.

Julie goes to school that day and keeps her head down. Heading to her locker and fumbling with the lock before popping it open. She switches her books out for her binders and right when she closes the door, Luke is on the other side.

“Hey Jules, me and the guys are going off campus for Lunch. Wanna come?” She normally would have told him yes but she has a feeling this is a plan to corner her about the band.

“No thanks, I promised Flynn to help her study for Chemistry. I’ll see you later.” She looks away before she can see his shoulders slump and she quickly hurries off to find Flynn. The girl was sitting at their regular lunch table and Julie sits next to her.

“Hey” Flynn looks over and grins, “yes finally you’re here. Okay, so I got these notes from Nick which are totally helpful, well they would be if I could read them. He has some messy handwriting. Almost as bad as Luke's...actually I take that back. His hand writing is awful. He’s lucky he’s pretty.”

Julie rolls her eyes and takes the notes from her, “first please don’t tell him that and second, tips on reading bad handwriting, they often slur the letters together in one line and squint. It’s easier.”

Flynn looks at the notes again and gasp, “whoa! I can actually kinda read this. Thanks Jules.”

They spend the rest of the Lunch studying.

The rest of the school day flies by, she doesn't see the boys though. Which isn't completely odd, they skip school more then they should. Julies glad she doesn't see them, she doesn't know how shes gonna tell them that Mrs.Harrison told her she lost her spot in the program. She remembers the day she got in, how proud they were.

_It's the summer before ninth grade and Julie submitted her video to the music program for her high school right when applications opened. Its been a month and she hasn't heard back yet._

_Flynn got her letter of acceptance a week ago, she keeps telling Julie it's because your last name starts with an C and it might take a while to get to M._

_Julie isn't convinced._

_Reggie comes home that day from spending the night with Luke and Julie runs to him. "did you check the mailbox? did it come? did you see anything."_

_He laughs and shakes his head, "nope, just junk mail. Stop worrying so much Jules, it's gonna come and youre gonan get in."_

_She groans, "How do you know? You got your letter quickly, and of course you got in, your too freaking talented."  
_

_He ruffles her hair and goes into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich. "Julie anyone can see how crazy good you are, a lot of kids applied this year, its gonna take a while."_

_Julie doesn't accept that answer and goes to her room to find Alex on the floor and she jumps. "Alex! Why are you in here?"_

_He gasp, "You don't wanna see your best friend? How rude of you!"_

_Julie rolls her eyes and sits on her bed. "Lexie?"_

_A hum is heard from the floor_

_"Do you think i'm gonna get into the music program."_

_He looks back at her and smiles, "I have no doubt in my mind."_

_She doesn't get a letter, even a week later, right before school starts, she doesn't receive her letter._

_She pretends that she's okay, and that shell reapply next year but it hurts knowing they didn't think she was good enough._

_She's sitting at the table at dinner, pushing her plate around. It's one of those rare nights where Luke and Alex are both at their own houses and the Molina's are eating without them._

_Her phone starts to ring and her mother looks at her, "Julie no phones at the table."_

_"I know, I know, i'm sorry" she goes to put it away and looks at the number. "Wait mom, it's the school, i need to answer."_

_Her mother looks to check to see if her daughter was lying and yes it was the school so Rose nods and Julie answers._

_"Hello?"_

_"Hello, is this Julie Molina?"_

_"This is she" She looks up at her parents._

_"Yes, on your application letter, you put an address that doesn't exist. Most likely a typo. We wanted to call you and inform you that you did make it into the Music Program. We just don't know where to send your letter."_

_Julie is silent and her mouth hangs open, her mother is asking her whats going on before Ray takes the phone from Julie, talking to the mam._

_"Oh she did? That's wonderful news! Thank you so much for calling, we apologize about the confusion." He puts the phone down and smiles._

_"I got into the program."_

_Reggie's_ _and Carlos' eyes widen and they both tackle their sister into a hug. Cheers and yells erupt into the household and Reggie text Luke and Alex, 10 minutes later they come to celebrate._

Julie remembers the way Alex yelled and cheered for her, remembers the proud look on Reggie's face. Remembers the way Luke held her as she cried and told her how talented she was.

They might be even more upset about the it then she was. She doesn't want to see their faces 

After school, Julie comes home to a empty house. Which isn’t too unusual on Tuesday. Carlos had baseball practice and Ray often watched him. The boys went to Alex house on Tuesdays since his mom cooked on those nights. Julie often tags along but she likes how quiet the house is on Tuesdays. She does some cleaning to help her dad out, he's having trouble keeping up with all the chores, their mom was the one always on top of that. 

After a little bit of cleaning, she decides to lay down. A little nap won’t hurt before the house is loud with boys. She gets under her covers and closes her eyes. Drifting off into sleep.

_Julie wanders around inside the studio, every step is louder then the other as she makes her way to the piano. She’s watching her mother. Her mother is smiling. Eyes closed and fingers playing delicately on the piano. She looks happy, healthy._

_“mom...?”_

_Her mom opens her eyes and smiles, “My darling, come play with me.”_

_Julie walks to the piano, sitting down and looking up at her. She can’t take her eyes off. Her mother was so beautiful, so so beautiful._

_Piano notes force Julie to look away and she places her hands on the keys with her mother. Smiling as they play the song they made together._

_This feeling is why she plays her music, her mother’s fingers next to hers. The way the notes traveled through her body awakening every muscle. This was the feeling of freedom._

_Without even realizing, the music stops and tears are streaming down her face. Her mother grabs her hand._

“ _Don’t give up the thing that keeps us connected Julie. I’ll always be here...play our music. Play your music. It's time to Wake Up”  
_

_She doesn’t get to respond before the hand drops onto the bench, her mother’s beautiful face and words, gone.  
  
  
_

Julie wakes up with a start, panting loudly and gripping her chest. Her mothers words are circling her brain. 

_Play our music_

_Play your music_

She glances out her window, the studios lights are off but it feels like it's calling out to her. She stands from her bed and leaves the house. 

When shes standing in front of the double doors she takes a deep breath before pulling them open. A shiver runs down her spine and she looks around. It's the same its always been, but not it seems like it's waiting for her, waiting for her to try again.

She takes small steps towards the piano, every other time she would be crying too much to make it but now...now there isnt a tear in sight. Her mothers words encourage her to keep moving, to not look back. 

Right as she stands in front of the piano, sheets of paper fall from the shelf. She looks over and wanders to it, grabbing it and picking it up the sheet of paper is tilted Wake up.

_It's time to Wake Up_

She reads over the sheet music and takes in the words at the bottom of the page. Her mothers handwriting

Julie sets the paper down and sits on the bench, lifting the bar and letting her fingers rest on the keys. After taking a deep breath, her fingers move.

" _Here's the one thing, i want you to know..."_


	5. Everything has got a price

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the boys were doing after they decided to skip school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi so I’m planning on making these longer, so longer updates. I kinda like popped 4 out in one day and they aren’t edited or anything and they aren’t my best work, I really want to give you guys the content you deserve so yeah longer chapters=longer updates.

  
Luke slams his back into the locker, watching Julie walk away from him again. He can tell she’s pulling away, and he’s scared that they’ll never be the same anymore. He has to find a way to get her back. To get her to realize that her mom wouldn’t want her to stop playing music and to fight through the pain. To _use the pain._

He meets up with Reggie and Alex by Reggies truck. He sees them look around him with a questioning glance and he sighs. “She’s not coming, she said something about Flynn needing help studying or something.”

Boys both sigh and they collectively agree not to talk about it. The three of them pile into the car and set off to their destination. 

On the ride there Luke can’t shake the feeling that he’s failing his Julie. He hasn’t been there for her and he’s trying but it’s getting more difficult as time passes. He wants more for her and he can’t seem to be the one to provide it. He needs a new tactic, and he needs one fast. She’s slipping through all of their fingers and he’s afraid she’s about to be gone forever. 

Luke voices his opinion about it to his friends and a silence settles over the car as they think. Reggie glances back, “maybe we can ask google? How to help someone become their self again.?”

Alex looks at him and blinks. “Do you seriously believe anything what google says will help Julie? She’s one of a kind, she needs to get through this herself.”

”it’s been a year Alex, I don’t think she’s going to be able to do this alone. She needs help, even if it’s from google.” Luke leans up towards the front of the truck.

Alex falls quiet and all of the boys wait on nothing. When they get to the local bakery they walk in and sit down. Ordering their usual sandwiches. Once they’re settle Luke pulls his phone out and starts typing on google. “What exactly are we looking for l? An article? Maybe a video?”

“Just click on something interesting, her that girl is holding a bird! Let’s watch that.” Reggie exclaims and points onto Luke’s phone. Alex looks up with his Reggie face and sighs, disappointment but not surprised. 

“what-“

”How about we look at this one! It says ‘Calebs guide to finding yourself again.’” Luke passes his phone to Alex so he can read the title and Reggie grins.

”well...that was just perfect huh? It’s like someone was _listening_ to us.” 

Alex looks around for a moment and nods, “just like...”

Luke taps the table, “read it lex, what does it say?”

Its quiet as the boys wait anxiously for Alex to read over it, and they can tell by the look he gives them that it’s not gonna help. “It’s nothing we haven’t already tried. I’m telling you guys, Julie is too complicated for a general statement like this.”

The muscle tee wearing teen grabs his phone back and looks over the article also. “Wait...it says at the bottom ‘for more personal and complicated analysis make an appointment with Caleb Covington.’”

Alex rolls his eyes and snatches it back, “I just read this and it didn’t say th-...wait when did that get there.”

”Who cares! Alex make an appointment! Maybe we just need to talk to the guy. If he knows more about Julie he might be able to help.” Lukes eyes are wide and desperate and Reggie bites his lip. 

“are we sure this is a good idea? What if he’s crazy or something?”

Luke sighs and looks over, “what other options do we have?”

The band looks at one another and they all agree on that. Alex clicks on the link and makes an appointment.   
  
Apparently Caleb Covington wasn’t a busy man. It only took a few moments before Alex received an email back. Telling the boys to meet him at a specific place in exactly an hour. They obviously told them okay, school was overrated anyway.   
  


Reggie, Luke and Alex all up to a house of some sort that looks abandoned. They immediately start regretting the decision of coming until the doors open wide and as they walk in. The entire scenery changed.

The floors were a bright and shiny marble design. Chandeliers dangles from the ceiling. Woman and men walked around, some looking like proper celebrities, others obviously the people who work there. 

Lukes eyes widen as he takes in the size of the house. “How come we’ve never heard of this place before?”

A voice is heard from behind them. “Because you wouldn’t know unless you were invited.” The three boys jump and turn around, holding each other close together. 

A brown skinned boy smiles at them, a skateboard in his hand and his hair in two braids. “So what you three doing here? Wanted a peek of magic?” 

Alex speaks before Luke gets the chance to, “Magic? No no we just came to talked to Caleb Covington. He said he’ll meet us here...”

The boys smile doesn’t flatter and he nods. “Oh so you are the newcomers, follow me, he’s got a table for you.”

A giggle is heard from the leather wearing teen. “Oou...how fancy!”

Luke looks at Reggie and smiles, he doesn’t forget how much he loves the boy but moments like these make him realize how much he needs and wants him in his life. At the thought he puts an arm around him and walks to the table.

Their new friend leads them to their section and Luke pretends not to notice when he pulls out the chair Alex is about to sit in. He also pretends not to see the bright blush on his best friends face.

When they’re seating Luke looks at him, “so..what’s your name?”

”Willie” he smiles and holds out his hand, his braid falls onto his shoulder. Luke can hear the sharp intakes Alex takes.   
  
He grabs his hand and shakes, “I’m Luke...” he gestures to Reggie who is looking around and taps him. The boy turns to him and smiles. 

“Oh! Hi, hi I’m Reggie hi.” The boy frantically says his name and shakes Willies hand. 

After a moment of slightly awkward silence, Luke taps Alex and he clears his throat, “Sorry..I’m Alex...uh..how’s it going?”

Willie shakes his hand and looks at him, “It’s going good Alex, it’s nice to meet you.” He looks to the other two, “all of you.”

Another round of quietness settles and Alex pulls his hand away from Willies with a blush. Luke smiles watching them and decides to try and make this less awkward. “So Willie...this Caleb dude..he said on his article that he could help our friend one finding themselves again. Is he here?”

Willie takes a moment to answer but eventually the smile that seems tattooed on his face comes back and he nods. “Yeah he’s here. He’s about to go on stage though. He’s an amazing performer. You’ll love it.” 

Just as Luke is about to ask what he meant, the lights dim and a catchy jazz rhythm starts playing.

”Did you miss me? I did too!” The loud voice has Luke trained on the stage as a man walks out from a cloud of dust. Luke can’t look away.

The man that Luke he now assuming is the famous Caleb, starts to sing. He has to admit. It’s good, really really good. Not exactly his style of music but Luke is talented enough to recognize good music. He does think all the light and blinding outfits are taking away from the general song. He tries to listen to the lyrics but can’t focus on anything else than the magic tricks the man seems to be doing. It’s kinda unnerving how good he was at this. It also makes him wonder is he’s gonna use magic to help Julie. 

After the very magical performance and several minutes of applause Caleb makes his way to the table and grins. “Boys! How wonderful to see you. Did you like the show?”

Luke nods enthusiastically, “That was-wow! And then what! You know?”

Caleb chuckles, “yes I know, sit sit, let’s talk.” When the boys are settled in their seats, the magic man leans on the table. “I understand there’s something I can help you with?”

Reggie nods, “yeah..my mom passed last year and my sister gave up music because of it. But music is her life. It’s all of our lives. We want to help her but everything we’ve tried fails. We were wondering if you could.”

Caleb is silent for a moment and thinks, “grief is a tricky thing...something like that is..even above my skill level. You can’t make someone do something when it involves grief but...you can influence them. Tell you what, I’ll help you boys out but because this we’ll take some time for me. I need to make a small deal with you guys.”

Luke nods “anything, we just want to help her.”

Caleb grins “perfect, well a place like this isn’t ran by then air and...I’m need help operating this. If I do this for you, I would like you guys to come once a week and help out for the night. If that isn’t too much?”   
  
The thought makes Luke shoulders shrink, a job? God the last thing luke wanted was a job. But...if it’ll help Julie...then Luke guess he can sacrifice one night of freedom. With the look to the other boys, he can tell that they all agree and Luke nods to Caleb. With a snap of his fingers, Caleb has sheets of paper in front of them. 

“I know a job isn’t what you teens are looking for but you said it yourself. Music is your passion...so on the nights you work you guys can play a song of your choice for all of the guest to hear and I’ll even pay you.” Caleb is writing on the paper he just got and passes it around.

”Well...it would be really cool to play here...and get paid.” Luke looks to his friends to see if they agree and when he looks at Alex he can see the anxiety build up in his chest.

”So only one night? And for how long? How much will we be getting paid? Why do we have these contracts?” Alex beats out a rhythm on the table as he starts to get himself worked up. 

Caleb doesn’t let the smile fall from his face, “yes only for one night, no more than 6 hours. I’ll pay you 15 an hour. And these contracts are just so I know who’s working and when they’re working. It’s a way to keep organized.”

Reggie looks at his paper and then at Caleb. “How...how long until julie is herself again.”

“Well...that’s up to Julie. I’m just giving her a push in the right direction.” Caleb explains and stands up. “I’m sorry to cut this meeting short but I have business to attend to. You threw just need to sign these papers and give them to Willie. I’ll see you soon.” Caleb is wondering off before they can ask him anymore questions.

Luke looks over at Reggie and they nod, lifting their pen and signing their names. Alex watches them before picking his own pen up and sighing his. 

They stare at their signatures before handing the papers to Willie and they stand up. 

“We better get going. I don’t want Julie to worry.” Luke dust himself off and Reggie nods. They starts making their way to the exit. When they’re almost there Luke notices that the blond is still by the table with Willie. He sees them swap phones and he grins, he’s happy for Alex.

When the boys finally get back to the Molinas it’s gotten quiet dark. As they leave the car and make their way inside, Reggie stops. 

“Do you guys hear that?” 

Luke turns to him and tilts his head. “Hear what?”

Reggie detours from the front and makes his way to the side of the house. “The piano...”

Luke, having heard the piano playing so many times, has grown immune to the sound. Not realizing there was indeed a piano being played. At first he thought maybe it was Carlos...he was learning again. But there was no way he was that good already. It was someone experienced.   
  


_“Here’s the one thing...”_

It was Julie...it was Julie. She was the one playing the piano. 

Julie Molina was singing again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s 1am when I’m posting this, I always do this. Anyway there’s a lot of spelling and grammar errors sorry! I’ll edit it soon enough lol. Let me know what you think in the comments!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Music is back into Julies life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be a happier one, some flashbacks, those will be in italics so you'll know. But i wanted to get away from the angst for a bit

"Wake up...mmh wake up." She lets her hands rest on the keys and smiles, reaching over and grabbing the sheet music before holding it close to her chest. She feels..alive again, like she can do anything. Her mother always made her feel like that. Her eyes shut, her mom would be so proud of her for trying again. She's not giving this up again. She's never letting this feeling go. Julie lets out a small sniffle and when she looks up and out the studio door, three heads duck down behind it. 

Julie rolls her eyes and smiles, "I know you guys are out there." a moment later a guilty looking Alex peaks his head around the corner, his long blonde hair falling into his face. She waves him inside and his usual gang follows in behind him. When Reggie walks in he goes to his sister. 

"You're singing again...you're really singing again?" She can see how his shoulders rise, something that happens when he get emotional and she nods "Y-yeah, i'm singing again." A split second passes and shes up in the air being spun around by her brother, laughs are heard from both Molina's and tears are shared between them. 

When her feet hit the ground she pulls him into a hug and holds onto him tightly. She feels his chest tighten and he squeezes her in his arms. “Mom would be so proud of you.” 

Another cry is heard from her and she buries her face into his jacket, she feels two other arms come around her. Julie is so lucky, she has three boys who are crying because of her accomplishment. She’s convinced she’s the luckiest girl in the world.   
  
Once the sobbing ends she pulls away and smiles at them, “where were...where we’re you guys? I didn’t see you guys at school.” 

They share glances and Luke smiles, “we were doing stuff...but I think it was worth it.” 

Julie looks between them and shrugs, most likely boy stuff, that’s she won’t even bother trying to understand. 

“So how about tomorrow we shake some of that rust off with band rehearsal?” Luke grins and stands next to her. She scoffs and pushes his shoulder. 

“Rust? That was amazing and you know it.” She waves him off and goes back to the piano. 

It’s silent for a moment and she looks up to Luke, confused of why she hasn’t gotten a response. His face has a smile on it and he’s already staring at her. “I do know it, you’re so incredibly talented Jules.” 

She ducks her head down shyly and plucks random notes on the piano, “whatever.” 

Alex sits on the piano bench, “what made you start playing?” 

She sits next to him and lays her head on his shoulder, sighing softly. “I don’t know...I had a dream and when I woke up it was like this force was pulling me to the piano...then I found the song and...I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.” 

“Well I’m glad you didn't, we all missed you, we missed hearing you." Alex looks down at the girl he considers his sister and she smiles at him.

"I know, I know. I'm glad i did it, i want you guys to be proud of me, just like i want mom to be proud of me." She feels small around the three boys, as if shes finally noticing that they all are taller and older then her. The seat on her other side is taken by Luke and he looks at her.

"We are so incredibly proud of you Julie, so so incredibly proud." His words hold so much emotion, Julie feels herself get lightheaded from it. He knows how much it means to her, Luke always knows what to say and when to say it. They were linked.

It's only a few seconds later when they hear Ray pull into the driveway, when the car door shuts they all stand up. Time to go tell dad the good news.

_______________________

After another round of celebration and tears, her dad decides to call in a pizza for the night, they all settle by the tv, arguing over a movie.

”I wanna watch Star Wars! We never watch it together.” Reggie's usual complaint starts the argument like always.

A groan is heard from Luke, “we always watch Star Wars Reginald! We should watch grown ups!” 

“That movie isn’t even that good, I vote the greatest showman.” Alex rings his opinion out and Julie raises her hand. 

“I second that! I love that movie.”

”We know.” Carlos makes his way into the argument “I vote Star Wars also.” 

Reggie high fives his little brother, “this is why you’re my favorite sibling.”

The middle child rolls her eyes, “don’t be fooled Carlos, he told me that yesterday.”

Julie looks around at her friends and family. They all were everything to her. She is so lucky.

_______________________

_Julie Molina is officially 10 years old. Its her special day! Luke has been telling her for ages how big being 10 is. She cant wait to see him today. Maybe he'll look at her like shes their age! They'll be together forever!_

_Julie makes her way downstairs and is greeted by the smell of her very own 10 year old birthday breakfast. Right before she hits the bottom step shes in the hair by her big brother and he's twirling her around the room >_

_"Happy birthday Jules!" He screams into her ear and she screeches._

_"Reggie put me down!" After a small beg shes back on her feet, both siblings wearing a large smile on their faces._

_Ray comes in and grins, "Good morning guys, Happy birthday Mija." He passes by her and kisses her on head, walking into the kitchen and the voice of Rose Molina. rings out into the house._

_"Where is sweet 10 year old girl?" At the mention, she runs into the kitchen._

_"Here mommy! I'm right here."_

_Little Julie runs into the kitchen to her mother and her mother lifts her in the air quit like her brother did and gives her kisses. "Happy Birthday mi amor! I can't believe my little nina is 10"_

_Julie smiles, her gap showing loud and proud to her mother. She gains another kiss on the head before she is let down on her feet._

_"Mommy, Alex and Luke said that they said a speecial surprise for me! Do you know what it is?" Julie bounces around Rose as she fixes her family breakfast._

_"I do honey but i wont tell you. You'll just have to wait and see." Julie whines but isn't upset, she loves surprises and she knows her best friends will give her the best ones yet!_

_The family of 5 eats breakfast together and Julie is taking guesses to what her surprise could be. Is it a new keyboard? Is it a room filled with stuffed animals? Or maybe its that doll house that she saw at the mall a few days ago. They wouldn't be able to afford any of that though._

_A few hours pass at the Molina residence and Reggie is being followed by his very annoying 10 year old sister. "Tell me, Tell me, Tell me, Tell me."_

_"No Julie, leave me alone." He rolls his eyes and Ray walks by and gives Reggie a look. "Be nice to your sister Reg."_

_She laughs and grins "yeah, be nice to me reg."_

_He scrowls at her, she is so lucky that its her birthday. "Julie the boys will be here in a few, you'll know in 30 minutes tops."_

_She groans dramatically "Too long!"_

_"Get over it." He walks away and goes help Carlos pick his clothes out for school the next day._

_Julie sulks to her room and lays on the bed, shes watching her digital clock religiously. Only a few more minutes, only a few more minutes._

_SHe hears a knock on her window and she sits up excitedly, she sees Luke and he gives her a grin, waving at her and then pointing to the studio. She nods at him and jumps up, grabbing her shoes and yelling to her parents that shell be in the studio._

_When she gets there, she isn't greeted by a bunch of people yelling surprise which is a bit disappointing but she waves it off. She knows what they have planned will be even better._

_Alex and Luke are standing next to each other excitedly, birthday bags in both hands. After a small pause of silence Reggie comes in with his own bag and stands beside Luke._

_"Happy Birthday Julie." Alex starts the conversation off first, "We all got you gifts that go hand and hand. We hope you like them." Alex hands his bag to her first and she puts it next to her, shes about to open it when shes stopped._

_"Wait Wait! We have to record this" Luke bounces with his idea and grabs one of Rays camera, setting it up quickly and pressing the little red button._

_Julie smiles and takes a box out of the bag, when she does she looks up at Alex questioning, he nods at her, she then opens the box and is created by sheets of paper. Sheet music to be exact. The title Bright written on the front._

_"What's th-" Shes interrupted by shushes and is handed another bag by Reggie. She looks at the three boys for a moment before opening his gift. She pulls out another box similar to Alex, It;s the same thing but the title on these are Finally Free._

_Just before she has the chance to ask a question Luke hands her the last gift, his smile so wide it could break his face. As she opens this one she sighs softly when she notices its not in the same case as the other two, she would have been pretty disappointed is the big surprise were songs._

_When she finally does get the box open, her eyes widen as she stares at a microphone, covered in white, with only one thing printed on it_

_Julie and the Phantoms_

_She looks up at her boys and tilts her head, "Julie and the phantoms? What's that?"_

_Reggie speaks before the other two have the chance to, "It's our band name." Luke buts in after him, "This is your official invitation to join sunset curve. We even re-banded! With Flynn's help of course."_

_She sits there with her mouth wide open in shock, "Really? You want me to join?"_

_"Yeah! You're crazy talented Jules, we would love to have you in our band." Alex smiles at one of his best friends, shifting on his feet._

_"So what do you say? Will you be the Julie to our phantoms?" Luke steps in front of the boys, smiling gently._

_A high pitched squeal is heard and shes off the couch in seconds, bringing them into a hug. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"_

_And that's the story of how Julie and the Phantoms begun._

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is my first work on here so lets see how it goes. Depending on how it goes will determine how fast i update. Not Tuesdays or Thursday most likely cause of work. Anyway pleeeease let me know what you think in the comments


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